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Thousands of residents of Ruiru, Kiambu county, have expressed fears of being evicted from their land and accused powerful people of eyeing the 23,000 acres prime property.

The land located in Gikumari area in Ruiru sub-county straddles the Eastern Bypass and Juja Farm where most residents say they have lived for more than four decades after acquiring it from a colonial settler.

They are now living in fear after it emerged that land grabbers were plotting to disinherit them with threats of forcible eviction.

The residents, who held a demonstration, accused high profile people of planning to evict them and put up estates on the land.

But area Deputy County Commissioner Margaret Mbugua said she was not aware of any plans to evict the residents, saying the government was only opening up the area by developing roads in the area.

“There are no plans to evict anyone from their land. We are aware that there are cases of multiple allocations, but the matter is being handled by the Lands Ministry at individual level. In the meantime, the government has embarked on building roads which have been in a pathetic situation,” said the Deputy County Commissioner.

But according to the residents, no public participation was conducted regarding the road construction projects, a claim which Mbugua dismissed as unfounded.

“We are suspicious of the intentions of the local administration and security agents since the contractor and surveyors came on the ground under heavy police guard before a public participation forum for the project was conducted,” said Anthony Maina, a resident.

Maina added that they acquired the land from a British settler in 1976 and they were surprised to be informed by an administrator that their ownership documents were fake.

The residents claimed they had been told that those who have built on the land will be compensated while those who are yet to develop their parcels had been told not to build anything on the land.

They insisted that the land is legitimately theirs and that they have all the necessary documents to prove their ownership, including title deeds issued to them by the government in the 1980s.

The locals told journalists that local authorities from Ruiru fueled their fears when they reportedly described their title deeds as suspect and that they would be evicted.

Residents said they are now living in fear as they may soon lose their homes.
A meeting called by local authorities to discuss the matter last Sunday ended in disarray after the aggrieved residents chased away the government officials whom they accused of failing to respond to questions regarding who was behind their woes.

While calling on the government and human rights activists to intervene and help protect them from eviction, the residents wondered why a developer only realized he has land in the area after over 40 years of absence.